PHC lifts stay order on oath-taking of lawmakers on reserved seats

The Peshawar High Court on Thursday lifted a stay order on oath-taking of lawmakers, elected on reserved seats, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P) withdrew its petition from PHC.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Dr. Khurshid Iqbal heard the petition, in which PTI-P had challenged the allocation of reserved seats by the Election Commission of Pakistan(ECP), terming it an incorrect distribution.

The petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Sultan Muhammad Khan, argued that PTI-P was entitled to two reserved seats for women and one minority seat in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. However, he said that the ECP had allotted only one seat for women.

Appearing before the court, the ECP’s Special Secretary stated that PTI-P’s petition on the same matter is already pending before the Islamabad High Court (IHC), after it was rejected by the ECP.

Justice Syed Arshad Ali remarked that PTI-P had misled the Peshawar High Court regarding the case.

The Peshawar High Court disposed of the petition on withdrawal request by PTI-P.

Read More: Peshawar High Court bars oath-taking of reserved seats’ beneficiaries

Earlier, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday barred the oath-taking of beneficiaries of reserved seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, ARY News reported.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Dr. Khurshid Iqbal heard the petition filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P), challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision regarding the allocation of reserved seats.